Sorry we haven’t posted in a LONG TIME. But we’re doing swell, and have big plans for the future! Here’s a peek into what’s been going on in our lives this past year.

In terms of The Odd Couple, Billy is a Felix and I am an Oscar. How do we even exist in the same house? Patience, and lots and lots of love.

After I moved in with my grandparents, I experienced the kind of crazy freedom that results in a mad obsession with buying cheap things en masse, and then leaving those things on the floor. It doesn’t seem like an Ali-thing, and I never realized it fully, but I am not the cleanest person in the world. I am a shopaholic who only cares about the hoarding side of things. I love the organization of favored items, like categorizing my dresses or my nail polish, but that’s on a good day when I’m actually inspired. Billy is similar to me in insiration. We lack it in the house department, but he craves neatness more than I do. So we clash at times on that front. My clothes are still in piles, as they have been since I was in high school. But, umm, my sewing area is clean, and that’s good enough for me.

Spring is upon us, however, and I am itching to feel completely moved in now that we’ve renewed the lease on our house for a second year. That means putting away my clothes, and not just cleaning a small spot off my desk. It’s not about my random things anymore, it’s about us. And that means I should do some dishes, lol.

Christmas came and passed, and it’s been almost two months since. That doesn’t mean I still can’t post pictures! Here is a glimpse of our adventures. We had a lot of fun in Virginia, seeing my family and testing our brand new winter coats in the freezing cold (it was 19 degrees when we walked to see the National Xmas Tree one night!). Love winter further up north, but I wouldn’t mind celebrating the holiday season down here sometime. I should get back into the habit of updating this blog- a lot happens in our family! P.S. I used Poladroid for effects. Loves it.

I see that I have not posted since September. Does that mean we have disappeared? Hopefully not, because we still have a lot of oatmeal to consume. Here’s a quick rundown about what’s been up in our family: Billy goes to work (and is a super worker!), Ali goes to work (and is a super worker!), and Dylan works on his fat butt. Friends have stopped by, and we’ve even made a trip back to Pensacola. We attended our first wedding together (congrats Robert and Kerri!). Our house is still standing, although piles of a certain someone’s clothes can cause ankle sprains quite often, and we’ve put up our Christmas tree and sent out our first Christmas family card. Billy and I celebrated our six-year dating anniversary on the 13th of this month by going to Ice! at Gaylord Palms (chilly!). Next week is Christmas, and we’ll be celebrating all the way up in Virginia,  and then bring the party back to Florida by Saturday. We’re also going to DC on a mini-trip for ourselves! Hopefully I’ll post more before the year is out, because 2008 has been awesome.

Last weekend, Billy and I were able to attend our second Florida Restaurant & Lodging Show in support of OrderCounter.com. The company’s booth set up was simply amazing, and I am sure it will only get better with each year. A lot of work goes into presenting during this three-day event, and those in the business get to see the newest and the best of what’s available out there.

To see our pictures from 2007 and 2008, click on the links below!

Florida Restuarant & Lodging Show 2007

Florida Restuarant & Lodging Show 2008

Albelli

The other week, I saw a deal on a free photo book with free shipping from a company called Albelli. The deal only worked for about a day, but I was able to get one book out of it. I made a photo book with pictures of Billy, Dylan, and I, and it finally arrived today. It is a small book, only about 5×7 inches, and a nice thing about it is the linen cover. The cloth cover was an awesome thing to get for free. The quality was all right, better than I expected since I used low quality pictures. This book will be added to the collection atop our coffee table, exposing some really vintage pictures from the last almost 6 years of our relationship (and meeting Dylan!).

Pink Shoes

I got a pair of awesome shoes on clearance at Dillard’s. They were $18, and I used a gift card for them. They remind me of Barbie. I wore them to Publix yesterday for date night. (Date night sooo consists of Publix trips.)

Buffet Donuts

I was trying to watch what I ate this week, but I threw that out the window when I got the hankering for something bad and found this recipe for Chinese buffet donuts. I love these things (top 2 buffet items: egg rolls and donuts), and when Thomas told me a long time ago that they were just biscuits, I did not believe him. He was right, though, and these are delicious and bad for you. They are so easy to make, needing only oil, sugar, and refrigerated biscuits. I ate too many. It took me a while to get the oil temp and cooking time just right, though, especially to cook the biscuit all the way through.

I was a two-dress bride.

It was unexpected, it caused a lot of drama, and it cost a lot of money. I spent $630 on my dress, and Grandma spent a little over $400 on hers. In the end, I got my little bit of indie wedding and Grandma got her tradition, and I looked good both times. I hope that’s the last time I ever war with my own grandmother, tsk tsk. My own mother and father were wrangled in by Gma to talk me into getting a second dress just to make her happy. I felt like I was betraying myself when I got a second dress, but if you make Gma cry, you can’t help it!

Dress #1- Wai-Ching, White Yowying dress, ordered in November 2007

This was an awesome dress, made by a designer named Chrissy Wai-Ching in Seattle. It reminded me of the Filipino barongs and other formal wear, and I just had to have it. My favorite part: the beautiful train. Too bad it was bustled on the day of the wedding!!! No one ever got to see it! I was sooo much skinnier when I took this picture (February 2008).

Dress #2- Unknown maker, purchased at Renee’s Bridal, one month before the wedding

Gma worked at Renee’s for a while, and I was dragged here right before I left Pensacola with Brandi. This was the first dress I tried on. I asked for something simple, and Gma insisted there be something sparkly. I really liked the veil and tiara I tried on with it. I can’t deny it- the whole “feel-like-a-princess” thing kind of rocked. Apparently the dress gave me a waist. Brandi took this lovely picture.

So, how did the whole dress thing go down on our wedding day? Well, I wore BOTH! I knew I would freak people out (which I like doing) by wearing my first wedding dress before the ceremony WHILE riding with Billy on the way to the church. I loved that part. Everyone was confused as to why I was in plain sight, right next to Billy. I was going to wear that dress, gosh darn it. Even Billy was, like, “Aren’t we not supposed to see each other?” But some people knew I had a second dress, so it was somewhat all right to freak everyone out. I could tell that it wasn’t accepted by some, but whatevs. I got to freak people out! (I’ll keep saying that forever.)

I had my father transport the dress to the church while I was on the trolley with the wedding party. Billy and I took some family pictures before the ceremony, and then I disappeared until I had to walk down the aisle. I loved how I matched my family’s garb that day. I didn’t care that they were wearing a white-ish color along with me. I didn’t want to stand out, and we looked good.

My Aunt Emily, Uncle Dan, and little Eva Mae. Taken by Heather Ahrens.

Billy’s told me that one of his favorite wedding moments was seeing me in the second dress for the first time.  That was my “real bride” look- all white and pouffy, complete with a veil and such. He loved it so much, and I am so happy that he did. I think Brandi told me Billy would like the dress when I first got it, and she was right. BTW, my veil was made by Gma the morning of the wedding, from $5 of tulle purchased from Joann’s. Score! And, Gma remembered the rings but forgot my jewelry, so I was lucky enough to borrow a necklace from Reena. I didn’t have a Something Old, but I had a something New and a Something Borrowed. I forgot my Something Blue at home (cute blue bows Brandi had give me)!

I posted this picture because Mercedes, the one to the left in a hot pink dress, was shown crying right after she saw me. I didn’t know until her family pointed it out, and I was, like, “Awww!!! I love you, Merce!” Taken by Heather Ahrens.

In the end, I got to wear my indie dress AND green plaid heels. Grandma forced me into a second dress. Billy cried because of how hawt his wife was. And that is all. I have no idea where those dresses are now! (After we left the reception, I totally tore that thing off and left it in a huge pile on the guest bed. Tsk tsk. It was all really sweaty.)

P.S. Check out the short story The Great Switcheroo by Roald Dahl.

The Storm

We ended up being effected by TS Faye last week after I wrote my last blog post. There was A LOT of rain, and we even lost power for an hour. Scary! Good thing we had lots of candles, but this made me think we should really be prepared next time around. That rain made me desperate for sunshine, but we braved it anyways to get some dinner at Chipotle! We got to don raincoats, and I wore my wellies.

The Jeans

Billy and I now own millions of pairs of jeans!!! Old Navy had a sale on Saturday for $12 adult jeans, and he got 4 pairs while I got 3. Awesome. Add that to the 2 pairs I got from American Eagle, and I have enough jeans to last a lifetime. And I never used to wear jeans! But, I have an extensive collection of graphic T’s, and I needed someway to wear them.

The Ped-Egg

I got a Ped-Egg from Bed Bath and Beyond on Monday using our gift card and a 20% off coupon. It was an interesting experience. My feet are smoother. My feet are groooooaaaaadddddddyyyy.

The Muffin Pan

I had a 40% off coupon to Joann’s, too, so I also got a king sized muffin pan. I’ve always wanted this, along with the Baker’s Edge pan (still looking for that). It worked well without the muffin wrappers, and it made 4 huge cupcakes. Yum.

The Haircut

I got my hair chopped off again. I tried getting my hair cut about two weeks after the wedding, but it was a horrible mistake. Now I pretty much look like I did four years ago. And I can grow it all back to the same style yet again.

I had the idea to get my haircut while on our honeymoon.

I got TWO haircuts, and it ended up with me cutting my bangs even shorter, making it only worse. I got a lot cut off, but it was still long. Worst haircuts in the world.

Forward to August, and this was my hair, with my bangs grown out and my hairstyle looking the same as the old times.

Then I got it cut off. Mwahahaha. 

A loooooooooooooooooooot got cut off.

The New Living Room

We got a new tv, and a new living room! Billy loves his new telly, and we got to pick out new carpet, coffee table, and tv stand for the front room living room. Also got some faux blooms for a vase on the tv stand. Office Max had a special on a $5.99 18×24 poster that usually costs $26, so Billy made me a version of the Keep Calm and Carry On poster for our living room. It looks swanky, and much cheaper than the original!

Bracing the storm in our jackets.

Yesterday was Billy’s birthday! Happy birthday, husband! He turned 23, and fun was to be had by all. Ok, the real fun was cake and dinner and loving people. But that’s more awesome than a bouncy castle at this point (unless we had a bouncy castle… and then we’d never get off).

Yesterday was also our first “hurricane day!” All right, it wasn’t really a hurricane, but Tropical Storm Fay. And nothing really happened. Light rain all day until the night time, when it finally got heavy. It is a slow moving storm. Good thing it wasn’t horrible, because we weren’t ready for a hurricane! Billy got to work at home with Dylan at his feet. We got to have cake with Billy’s parents for lunch. Good day.